Vehicle steering wheel



July 31, 1928. 1,679,164 A. c. MOBRIDE v VEHICLE STEERING WHEEL Filed June 2, 1925 Patented Jul 3i, 192s.

ARTHUR C. MCBRIDE, OF SAN DIEGO; CALIFORNIA.

. VEHICLE S EERING My invention relates to vehicle steering wheels, particularly to means connection with vehicle steering wheels to fac htate' handling thereof, and the objects of myjin- 6 vention are; first, to provide knob means; in connection with vehicle steering wheel's, at the side thereof nearest Q the driver over which the hollow portion ofthe hand of the driver may be placed or rest to facillt'ate the 10 handling of the wheel without "necess tating grippingthe annular or run portlon of the wheel, andwhereby the wheel may befcompletely-turned around about its ax s without removing the hand. from the knob means and still retain the hand in such. apos'it on rela tively thereto that the annular POftlOIl "or rim of thewheel may be readily grlpped. if desired; second, to provide a veh cle steering wheel having one or a plurality of fiat knob members at the upper side thereof or the side thereof nearest the driver,wh1ch knob members may be either ,revolubly mounted on the rim of the wheel so that the same may rotat with the hand relatively to the wheel, or may form an lntegral part of the rim of the wheel; third, to provide a plurality of fiat knob members at the upper side of a vehicle steering wheel whlch are so arranged relatively thereto as to meet the requirement and convenience of all drivers;

fourth, toprovide as a whole a novelly constucted vehicle steering wheel, andfifth, to provide a vehicle steering wheel of this class which is simple and economical of construction, durable, practical, and wh ch Wlll not readily deteriorate or get out of ordcr.

With these and other ob]ec ts in view, as V will appear hereinafter, my lnventlon. consists of certain novel features of construe- 40 tion, combination and arrangement of parts and portions, as will be herelnafter described in detail and particularly set forth 1n the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the charac- 4 ters of reference thereon, whlchform a part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 is a front or top new of a vehicle steering wheel as commonly used on automobiles, with my knob means provlded at the upper or front side thereof; Fig. 2 1s a sectional view thereof, taken through 22 of Fig. 1 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front or top view of a vehicle steering wheel, with my knob means in connection therewith m a slightly modified form of construction, in

which the knob forms an integral part of the 1925;. 1 serial 34,315.

taken 5-5 of Fi 3.

Like charactersof reference refer to simi lar'pa'rtsand portions throughout "the sev eral views of the drawings.

ICE,

The vehicle steering wheels now common- 1y inuse, particularly onantomob'iles, consistof an annular gripping or rim portion 1,usu-" ally madejof wood .andsecured at intervals to'ft'he outer'ends of arms2 radiating from a hub mountedon the steering post. {At the upper side of the rim 1, or on the side'thereof nearestthe driver of the automobile, I have provided" a plurality of knobs 3, which, as

shownin Figs; 1 and "2'of the drawings, are rotatably mounted and secured in position thereon by means of screws 4. 7 These knobs 3 are preferably flat and rounded in a manner to conform substantially with the hollow portion of the hand of the driver of the vehicle. Said knobs extendonly a slight distance above the upper side of the rim 1 and are preferably of approximately the same width. The knobs described may be arranged in any suitable manner at the upper side of the rim or other portions of the steering wheel to suit the manifold whims of the various drivers. Fig. 1 shows these knobs positioned at diametrically opposite portions of the wheel at the lateral sides of the rim and also slightly offset from a line, parallel with the axis of the vehicle.

In the modified form of construction, shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings, the knob members are non-rotatably secured to and form preferably an integral part of the rim of the wheel, as shown'best in Figs. 4 and 5 ofthe drawings. In this modified form of construction, in which the knobs do not rotate with the hand when rotating the wheel, the knobs are preferably highly polished so that the hand slides readily over or around the same performing a similar function to that disclosed in connection with Figs. 1 and 2.

Thus it will be seen that a steering wheel of this class provided with substantially fiat knobs at the upper side thereof may be readione of the knobs, if desired, without inter" ,ly and quickly rotated with one hand by fcring in any way with the usual function of the wheel. 7

Though I have shown and described a particular construct-ion, combination and ar; rangeinent of parts and portions and a certain modification thereof, I do not wish to be limited to this particular construction, combination and arrangement nor to the modification, but desire to include in the scope of my invention the construction, combination and arrangement substantially as set 'forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A vehicle steering wheel provided at its one side with a relatively fiat roundedknob adapted to conform with and extend into the palm of the hand of the person operating the wheel, the distance from the outer end of the knob to the back side of the wheel being such as to permit the fingers to grip the back side of the wheel While the palm of the hand rests on the outer end of the knob.

2. A vehicle steering wheel provided with an annular rim having relatively fiat round ed knob means secured thereto and extending therefrom toward the driver of the vehicle, the distance from the outer end of: the knob means to the back side of the annular rim being such as to permit the fingers of the hand operating the wheel to grip the back side of the rim while the palm of the hand rest-s on the outer end of the knob,

3. A vehicle steering wheel provided with an annular rim, and a. knob secured to the upper side ofsaicl rim and extending'a slight distance above the same, said knob being shaped to conformwith the palm of a hand for rotating said wheel, said distance,- together with the thickness of said rim, being considerably less than the'distance between the outer edge of the palm" and the ends of the fingers of an ordinary hand.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at San Diego, California, this 22nd day of May, 1925.

ARTHUR O. MCBRIDE. 

